Starting a Clothing Brand? You Better Learn When the Factory Eats Lunch

If you’re flying halfway across the world to visit a factory, don’t land like a tourist. Learn how to manage timelines, supplier visits, and real production expectations inside Garment Sourcing 101

Me when I arrive at my second factory of the day and it’s 11:59. Everyone is 吃饭 and 休息. My flight leaves at 3pm.

Perfect timing — if you came to watch everyone eat lunch.

You travelled 10,000km. You’re on your second iced coffee. You’ve got a flight in four hours, a suitcase full of fabric swatches, and a very tight window to inspect your production line before heading back.

And the factory?

They’re eating.

They’re resting.

They’re not moving.

This Is What It’s Like to Start a Clothing Brand in the Real World

Not in Canva.

Not in your DMs.

In the actual factories where your production happens — on their time, not yours.

When founders ask how to start a clothing line, they imagine product development, branding, influencer shoots.

But the ones who actually survive learn that factory culture eats scheduling for breakfast. And lunch. And rest time. Literally.

What You Miss When You Don’t Respect the Rhythm

In garment manufacturing, the factory doesn’t run on your Google Calendar. It runs on routines. Meals at noon. Rest until 1:30. Production meetings after 3.

If you don’t plan your visit around that, you won’t just miss a meeting — you’ll miss an entire opportunity to check your goods, build trust, or catch errors before they’re boxed and shipped.

That’s the price of showing up at 11:59.

Because when it comes to sourcing trips, showing up isn’t the hard part.

Showing up at the right time is.

If You Want to Start a Clothing Business, Learn to Work the Floor

Factory visits are where real sourcing happens — not in inboxes or spreadsheets.

If you’re serious about starting a clothing brand, you need to:

• Know when to schedule walk-throughs

• Understand break times, work shifts, and inspection windows

• Allow buffer hours, not buffer minutes

• Communicate early — and in their timezone

• Never, ever plan a factory visit the same day you fly out

These are the real logistics no one puts in a sourcing webinar — but they’re the difference between flying home informed… or flying home empty-handed.

Want to stop wasting factory visits and start managing production like a pro?

We cover travel timing, factory protocol, and how to make the most of your overseas visits — inside Garment Sourcing 101.

Because nothing says “amateur” like landing at lunch.